FOI

The Freedom of Information Act (2018 Revision) (the “FOI Act”) gives the public the right of access to all types of records held by public authorities, with some exceptions.  As a public authority, OfReg (“the Office”) is fully committed to openness, transparency and serving the public interest in compliance with the FOI Act.

Members of the public can send their request to the Office’s FOI email address or submit a request on-line at the FOI Unit website.  All requests must be in writing (letter or email) and must include the party’s name and an address (either postal or e-mail).  Requests, where possible, should also include a contact details so that we can respond to you or be contacted if there is a need to clarify your request.

Commercially Sensitive Information

One exemption of particular relevance to the Office and its licensees is that covering commercially sensitive information.  The Office handles commercially sensitive information in accordance with Section 107 of the Utility Regulation and Competition Act (2018 Revision) (the “URC Act”) or the Information & Communications Technology Authority (Confidentiality) Regulations (“the Confidentiality Regulations”).  Under Section 107(3) of the URC Act, the Office “shall grant a request to treat information as confidential if the Office concludes that the information is –

• (a)  A trade secret of any person;
• (b)  Information, the commercial value of which would be, or could reasonably be expected to b, destroyed or diminished by disclosure;
• (c)  Other information, the disclosure of which would have, or could reasonably be expected to have, an adverse effect on the commercial interests of any person to whom the information relates;
• (d)  Information –
  • (i)  that is given to the Office by a third party (other than another sectoral utility) in confidence on the understanding that it would be treated as confidential; and
  • (ii)  the disclosure of which would be likely to prevent the Office from receiving further similar information required by the Office to properly fulfil its functions; or
• (e) Information, the disclosure of which would constitute a breach of a duty of confidence provided for by a provision of a Act.”

Any person submitting information to the Office may request that such information be designated "confidential" provided it is accompanied by:

1. a full justification in writing for the claim of confidentiality, and
2. a redacted version of such information in a form that may be made available to the public (to be submitted at the same time as the claim of confidentiality).

If there is no claim of confidentiality, the Office may - and normally will - make the information publicly available by publishing it on the web site or providing copies to parties who request them.

The Office itself, or any third party, may challenge a claim of confidentiality. The originator is given the opportunity to further justify its claim, and then the Office makes a determination in accordance with the URC Act, 2016 or the Confidentiality Regulations (whichever is applicable).   As before, information for which no such claim is made will be liable to disclosure and is subject to the FOI Act.

If the Office has made a decision to deny your FOI request, or if the Office fails to provide the information on time or grants access to only part of the records requested, or if you have a dispute in relation to the fees charged you may request that the decision be appealed by internal review to the Chief Executive Officer.  You must request an appeal within thirty (30) days of receiving a response or from the date a response should have been received. Please note that if you have asked for an internal review of the Office’s decision to deny your FOI request and you are not satisfied with the results of the internal review, you can submit an appeal to the Office of the Ombudsman.  The website of the Office of the Ombudsman is www.ombudsman.ky. 

Publication Schemes

Each public authority covered by the FOI Act has a legal duty to adopt and maintain a publication scheme in accordance with section 5 of the act.  The main purpose of a publication scheme is to make information readily available without the need for specific written requests. Publication schemes are intended to encourage organisations to publish proactively, and develop a greater culture of openness. OfReg’s Publication Scheme is presently being reviewed, and will be published in accordance with section 5 of the Act.

The Act requires certain information to be published by public authorities including (Click on the links to jump to the relevant information on our website):

• locations of operations and the opening hours the Office.
• the functions of the Office, its departments and sectors (Electricity & Utilities, ICT and Fuels), what work it does and how it sets about its tasks.
• the title and business address of the Principal Officer and other key officers within the Office.
• Classes of records held. (Refer to Site menus)
• Manuals, interpretations, rules, guidelines, practices or precedents.”